COVID-19 Cases Surge In Jefferson County

LAKEWOOD, CO —With COVID-19 cases surging due in large part to the Omicron variant, Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) this week offered updates on masking, testing and vaccines as students, faculty and staff return to school after the holiday season.

According to a JCPH news release, COVID-19 rates have "risen dramatically," with the department reporting 5,943 new cases in the seven days leading up to Jan. 4, an incidence rate of 1013.2 cases per 100,000 people.

This rise, health officials said, can be attributed to increased mobility during the holidays and the highly infectious nature of the Omicron variant.

"Unfortunately, the question is no longer 'how can we prevent the Omicron variant from taking a foothold in our community?' but rather 'how can we minimize its impact?'" said Dr. Dawn Comstock, executive director of JCPH. "The good news is that, to our current knowledge, Omicron does not cause more severe illness than Delta or other previous strains of COVID-19, and may cause less severe illness for most who are infected. However, it is much more infectious and spreads rapidly, as we are seeing now."

As a result, JCPH has reiterated the importance of school-aged children, teachers and school staff to continue taking preventative steps like: masking, physical distancing and getting up-to-date vaccines. The latter includes the COVID-19 vaccines, flu vaccine and other routine childhood immunizations.

JCPH reminds residents that masking remains a requirement in schools.

The agency also said that it plans to adopt and follow any revised health guidance for schools and school-aged children that comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).

According to JCPH, demand for COVID-19 testing has been high as the holiday travel window has come to a close. The health department is running a number of free COVID-19 testing sites, where residents can get PCR testing. Residents are urged to pre-register for their tests.

For those people conducting rapid COVID-19 tests at home, JCPH said they are required to report their results, regardless of the outcome, within 24 hours of the results being known or determined.

JCPH has said people who are exposed to COVID-19 and are unvaccinated, should get tested within three to five days after exposure. Meanwhile, those who are exposed and vaccinated, are asked to get tested after five to seven days.

Symptoms of COVID-19 may appear two to 14 days after exposure, and JCPH reminds residents to follow the CDPHE's updated quarantine and isolation guidelines if they test positive, are exhibiting symptoms or are exposed to COVID-19.

JCPH also has noted that due to the highly infectious nature of the Omicron variant, many public health experts are now recommending the use of N95 or KN95 masks, instead of cloth masks. In fact, the N95 and KN95 masks even have higher levels of efficacy than surgical masks, according to JCPH.

"With the rapid changes we are seeing in the pandemic, N95 or KN95 masks may not be rapidly available. While we encourage folks to use the highest level of protection available, we know this may not be possible. That doesn't mean surgical or cloth masks are ineffective — they still will provide a higher level of protection than not masking at all, and that could make all the difference," said Lane Drager, vice president of the Jefferson County Board of Health.

Health experts agree that vaccines remain the best line of defense against COVID-19, and JCPH recommends vaccines for all individuals 5 years of age and older.

This week, the CDC announced that children ages 12 to 15 are now eligible for Pfizer COVID boosters—everyone 16 and over previously had been eligible. The CDC has recommended the booster shot for younger adolescents at least five months after their second dose, according to CNBC.

JCPH said it will provide more information about the availability of boosters for this age range on its website.

"While treatments such as monoclonal antibody treatment offer an additional opportunity to fight back against this disease, it's much better to avoid contracting COVID-19 in the first place, especially since the availability of these treatments remains scarce," said Dr. Sarah Rowan, medical director at JCPH. "Just like with all diseases we can avoid or lessen with vaccines, it is much better to rely on prevention, rather than treatment."

There are many COVID-19 vaccination sites in Jefferson County. All sites offer COVID-19 vaccines for free and no ID or insurance is required.

"We know the people of Jeffco are tired and ready for this pandemic to be over," Comstock said. "However, until we win the fight against Omicron and get to a safer point, as a community, we have to continue to take prevention steps to keep each other healthy. COVID-19 has already had too high a cost and we have lost too many people. We will get through this — but we have to work together."